Consumer-focused websites, which either sell items directly or offer consumer marketplaces (e.g., sites), must provide an easy way for online users to find items that are offered (e.g., listings, advertisements, promotions, etc.). If a user/consumer cannot find an item offered for sale, the consumer will not be able to purchase or bid on the item. It has been shown that items displayed on the first page or in the first few pages of search results have an exponentially higher selection rate than even those items on the second page of the search results. A 2006 report from iProspect on search engine user behaviors shows that while 62% of users clicked links in the first page of search results, only 28% clicked a link on the second page. This user behavior creates a disproportionate amount of attention to listings that appear on these first pages because a first page listing improves the chances of a successful sale compared with the listings that appear on the later pages of the search results. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important to provide users with a variety of ways to display listings at the top of the search results (e.g., on the first page or in the first few pages of search results) to increase the likelihood of conversion (e.g., being clicked by a user).
Thus, a system and method for enabling searching for items, listings, or products based on listing activity is needed.